ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland transportation leaders announced future safety upgrades along five state highways to better protect pedestrians and cyclists, including a three-mile stretch of Route 40, the Baltimore National Pike, in Catonsville.
Catonsville’s Rt. 40 among state highways slated for safety improvements
The improvements are part of the state's Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, which uses crash data and community factors to identify problem areas. The Route 40 project will focus on sections from Charing Cross Roads to the Beltway and from Nuwood Drive to the Beltway.
"Historically, state highways have really been built for motorists, to get people from point A to B. But they weren't always designed in a way that really integrated well with the communities that those roads went through," Will Pines, Maryland state highway administrator, told WMAR-2 News after a Monday announcement.
The planned upgrades could include better sidewalks, bike lanes, improved crosswalks and intersections, and traffic calming measures.
"SHA's work on upgrading crosswalks, and intersections, addressing unsafe speeds and adding bike lanes has increased the visibility of our most vulnerable users: those who walk, bike and roll," said Katie Thomson, the acting secretary for the Maryland Department of Transportation.
Thomson said collective efforts have led to a 33% year-over-year reduction in pedestrian and cyclist deaths, with overall traffic deaths falling 18%.
Pines said the planning process will involve community input before any construction begins.
"What we'll do is we'll show on a corridor map where these will go, present that to the community, get feedback on that and progress design based on that feedback," Pines said.
The entire process could take two and a half to three years from planning to completion, Pines added.
In Focus look at state highways getting safety upgrades
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